Earl Averill
Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 - August 16, 1983) was an American player in Major League Baseball who was a center fielder from 1929 to 1941. He was a six-time All-Star (1933-38) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. Born in Snohomish, Washington, Averill broke into the major leagues in 1929 (at the age of 27) with the Cleveland Indians. He played for Cleveland for over ten years, and remains the all-time Indian leader in total bases, runs batted in, runs, and triples. He also remains 3rd in all-time Indian hits and doubles, and 4th in all-time Indian home runs and walks. During his time in Cleveland, the team never finished higher than 3rd. He's famous for hitting the line drive that broke Dizzy Dean's toe in the 1937 All-Star Game. Averill was the first major league player to hit 4 home runs in a doubleheader (with home run in each game) on September 17, 1930; he was also one of the first players to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat (April 16, 1929, opening day). Averill batted .378 in 1936, leading the American League in hits with 232, but finishing 2nd to Luke Appling in the batting race (Appling batted .388 for the White Sox). Averill was traded to the Detroit Tigers in the middle of the 1939 season (June 14). The following season his playing time was limited, but the Tigers reached the World Series. In the seven-game series against the Cincinnati Reds, the 38 year old Averill went 0-for-3 in three pinch-hit attempts. The Reds won the series 4 games to three. Averill retired in 1941 after struggling in April with the Boston Braves. After his career, he was very outspoken on being elected to the Hall of Fame. While he didn't campaign for induction, he did make the statement that if he was ever to be inducted, he didn't want it to be posthumously, and if that was the case, he wanted his family to decline the honor. He was inducted in 1975, 8 years before his passing, so he got his wish. He made news of a different sort, according to Baseball Digest, in the early 1960s when he was boarding an airplane to fly to a site for an old-timers' game. He insisted on bringing his own bat, which was no big deal. The problem was that he insisted on bringing it in a gun case! His son, Earl Jr., also played in the majors from 1956 through 1963. He was mainly a catcher but also played left field and a few games at infield. See also * Top 500 home run hitters of all time * List of major league players with 2,000 hits * List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles * List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples * List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs * List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI * List of Major League Baseball triples champions * Hitting for the cycle * Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game External links * * * The Deadball Era Category:Major league players from Washington Category:Major league center fielders Category:American League All-Stars Category:Boston Braves players Category:Cleveland Indians players Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:1902 births Category:1983 deaths Category:Baseball players who have hit for the cycle Category:Players Category:Hall of Fame